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Synonyms

no-show

American  
[noh-shoh] / ˈnoʊˌʃoʊ /

noun

  1. a person who makes a reservation and neither uses nor cancels it.

  2. a person who purchases an admission ticket and doesn't use it.

  3. any absentee.

adjective

  1. not appearing as scheduled or expected.

no-show British  

noun

  1. a person who fails to take up a reserved seat, place, etc, without having cancelled it

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of no-show

An Americanism dating back to 1940–45; no 2 + show

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The company introduced a new no-show alert last fall: Parents set an expected school-arrival time and it notifies them if their child doesn’t show up.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026

The guy who I was there to meet, who was going to vouch for me, was a late no-show.

From Slate • Oct. 27, 2025

“I’ve had recruiters no-show on calls and write rude emails— something I’ve never gotten from anyone, recruiter or no, in my professional life, ever,” she said.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2025

In response, the travel company said it had been cancelled because I was a no-show on the outbound flight.

From BBC • May 16, 2025

“What the heck? Last week you were no-show, and this week you start without me?”

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.